By Graham Ruthven
Top five ambitions
There is no time for Manchester City to linger on what happened at Wembley on Saturday. Indeed, Pep Guardiola and his players must quickly get over defeat in the FA Cup final to secure their place in next season’s Champions League.
Weekend wins for Arsenal, Aston Villa, Chelsea and Nottingham Forest have put pressure on City to beat Bournemouth on Tuesday night. Their spot in the top five could depend on it.
Bournemouth have already beaten Manchester City once this season, but enter Tuesday’s match at the Etihad Stadium on the back of a 1-0 defeat to Aston Villa over a week ago. The Cherries have won just two of their last 10 games in all competitions.
City need six points from two matches this week to maximise their chances of finishing in the top five. They can’t count on favours elsewhere, making Tuesday’s match one of their most important of the entire campaign.
Key players
Erling Haaland passed on the chance to score from the spot against Crystal Palace in the FA Cup final and hasn’t looked as sharp in front of goal since returning from injury two weeks ago. Nonetheless, the Norwegian will lead the line on Tuesday night.
Kevin De Bruyne has found a rich vein of form in recent weeks, scoring a winning goal in his last home match for City against Wolves. The Belgian is still City’s most reliable creative player even as he prepares to leave the club.
Phil Foden could be in line for a start after only coming off the bench for a second half cameo against Crystal Palace in the FA Cup final. Jérémy Doku and Savinho did little to impact the match and could be dropped for other options.
Evanilson, Justin Kluivert and Antoine Semenyo will all pose an attacking threat at the Etihad Stadium. Bournemouth are one of the most dangerous vertical teams in the Premier League and City will give them space to exploit in behind.
Tyler Adams and Lewis Cook will start as the double pivot at the base of the Bournemouth midfield while Dean Huijsen will play his first game since his summer transfer to Real Madrid was confirmed. The Spaniard will have another opportunity to demonstrate his level.
Team news
Rodri, John Stones, Nathan Aké and Oscar Bobb are all still sidelined for Manchester City. Otherwise, Guardiola has a fully fit and available squad to choose from.
Guardiola faces a decision over who to play in the wide areas, both in the defence and further forward. Matheus Nunes could come into the lineup at right back while James McAtee could start ahead of him.
Ryan Christie, Dango Ouattarra and Luis Sinisterra will all miss Bournemouth’s trip to the Etihad Stadium with Alex Scott and Enes Ünal also sidelined at the moment for the Cherries.
Prediction
Failing to reach the Champions League, both in its expanded format, and with the amount of places on offer to English teams would be unthinkable. Pep Guardiola must, therefore, be able to rescue something from the season, starting with a win tonight that will set up Sunday’s dramatic final round: Manchester City 2-1 Bournemouth.
(Cover image from IMAGO)
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